Changes
by MKR
Summary: Alternate ending to "Goodbye Iowa"


Title: Changes  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Summary: What if Xander was the one who got stabbed by Adam in "Goodbye Iowa"  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything  
  
Author: MKR  
  
Buffy, Riley, Xander, and Dr.Angleman where all staring up at Adam.  
  
  
  
Adam: I've been thinking about the world. I wanted to see it. Learn it. I saw the inside of that boy and it was beautiful. But it did not tell me about the world. It just made me feel. So now . . . I want to learn about me. Why I feel? What I am?  
  
He stops pacing and turns to face them. He takes a step forward and drops to the floor, landing on his feet. He looks at Riley.  
  
Adam: So I came home.  
  
He pulls out a computer disk from the cargo pocket of his pants. It is labeled "Adam" and he slides into the drive slot on the metal plate of his chest. The disk loads itself with a soft humming.  
  
Adam: (pacing again) I'm a cinematically redundant, biomechanical demonoid. Designed by Maggie Walsh. She called me Adam and I called her mother.  
  
Angleman: Adam. Maggie would want you to stand down.  
  
Adam: (looks at him) Yes. But I seem to have a design flaw.  
  
Angleman looks like he is going to bolt. Buffy has an "Oh shit" look on her face.  
  
Adam: (pacing) in addition to organic material, I'm equipped with GP-2/D-11 inferred detectors. A harmonic decelerator, plus DC servo.  
  
Buffy: She pieced you together from parts of other demons.  
  
Adam looks down at his green Polgara arm, and his dark tan demon right arm, which is plated with metal on the forearm and shoulder.  
  
Adam: And man. And machine. Which tells me what I am... but not who I am. Mother wrote things down. Hard data, but also her feelings. That's how I learned that I have a job here. And that she loved me.  
  
Riley: She wasn't your mother! And she didn't love you!  
  
Xander: (not taking his eyes off Adam) Is that really the issue?  
  
Riley: She made you because she was a scientist?  
  
Xander: (warningly) Rileeey.  
  
Adam: Riley Finn  
  
He pulls out another disk, this one-labeled "FINN," and loads it into his chest.  
  
Riley: Stop! Those files- -  
  
Adam: Oh! Mother created you, too.  
  
Riley: Maggie is not my mother. (to Buffy) I have a mother. A real...  
  
Adam: A birth mother. Yes. But after you met Maggie, she was the one who shaped your basic operating system. She taught you how to think. How to feel. She feed you chemicals to make you stronger. Your mind and body. She said that you and I were her favorite children. Her art. That makes us brothers. Family.  
  
Riley: NO! (takes a step forward) I'm not like you!  
  
Adam: That's pain, isn't it? Why? Because your feeding schedule, the chemicals, have been interrupted? Or do you miss her? Tell me.  
  
Riley: I'll kill you.  
  
Adam: (calmly) You won't. You haven't been programmed to.  
  
Riley: I cannot be programmed! I'm a man!  
  
Adam: It's here.  
  
He pulls out another disk and is holding it up for Riley to see.  
  
Adam: The plan she had for us. What happens. How it ends.  
  
Riley: (quietly) No.  
  
Adam: Do you want to hear?  
  
Riley: No!  
  
Riley draws his berretta and aims it at Adam. Before he can pull the trigger, Adam grabs his arm and forces him to drop it. Buffy rushes forward and Adam backhands her in the face, sending her to the floor. Riley frees himself and punches Adam across the metal side of his face. Adam, unfazed, hits him with an uppercut that sends him flying high across the room over a middle worktable. He hits the floor in a tumble and gets knocked unconscious.  
  
Xander rushes forward but Adam just shoves him back against the wall and he goes down.  
  
Buffy is on her feet and sends a powerful roundhouse kick to Adam's chest. Adam just looks at her and smashes a fist across her face. She retaliates with a punch to his midsection. Adam responds by slamming the same fist down on her shoulder this time driving her to the floor.  
  
Angleman deices its time to get the hell out of there and runs past Adam, heading toward the door. Adam sees him and his Polgara skewer juts out of his arm.  
  
Adam: Doctor.  
  
Adam steps forward and plunges the skewer into Angleman's back. He gasps and shudders in pain for a few seconds then falls to the floor, sliding off the spear. Xander runs up behind Adam and jumps on his back, wrapping an arm around his neck. Adam just turns on him and stabs him in the left side of his abdomen. Xander falls back, hitting the metal railing of the stairs, and drops to the floor clutching his side.  
  
Buffy gets to her feet and slams a side kick into Adam's back, this time making him stumble. He quickly turns around and ducks a slash aimed at his head. He grabs her around the neck with his other hand and shoves her to the floor.  
  
At the door to the room Graham and Forrest are pounding in the door trying to get in.  
  
Adam grabs Buffy again, lifting her off the floor, and throws her against the wall. She hits hard and falls, unmoving. Adam just stands and looks downs at his fallen opponents.  
  
There are now more commandos outside the door, trying to break through.  
  
Adam: Thank you. This has been ... very interesting.  
  
He walks to the stairs and heads back up to the catwalk. Xander is lying against the wall, in pain and Buffy, nearby, is starting to move again.  
  
Commando: (outside) Move away from the door.  
  
Finally, one of the commandos figured out that one of the very big guns their holding would be very helpful right now, and sends a circle of shots through the metal door around the handle. Adam walks under an air vent and reaches for the grated cover.  
  
Buffy moves to Xander's side.  
  
Buffy: Xander are you ok?  
  
The door gives way and two commandos rush in, guns ready. Forrest and Graham are right behind them and another half dozen commandos follow. They see Angleman's body as they walk inside.  
  
Commando: Secure the room. GO! GO!  
  
Xander: (still on the floor next to Buffy) We got a demon in here. It escaped through that vent.  
  
Buffy: It's not the Polgara. It was sort of half man.  
  
Forrest: Right! And you just happened to be in the neighborhood.  
  
Riley finally gets up from where Adam through him, and walks over to where Forrest is.  
  
Riley: She's telling the truth. I saw it. It killed Angleman. Go. Now!  
  
Commando: Yes, sir.  
  
Several commandos rush up the stairs to the vent.  
  
Riley looks really sick and an a few seconds later he collapses to the ground.  
  
Buffy: (quickly leaving Xander's side) Riley!  
  
Buffy is holding Riley's head in her lap. Forrest steps closer to Riley.  
  
Buffy: He needs to go to the hospital.  
  
Forrest: We'll take it from here.  
  
Buffy: I'm going with him.  
  
Forrest: It is a military hospital.  
  
Buffy: NO.  
  
Forrest kneels next to Riley.  
  
Forrest: Back off! We take care of our own around here, understand? Well I guess you don't because your friend over there will probably bleed to death if you don't get him to a hospital, if you even care.  
  
Buffy glared at Forrest before she went back over to Xander. She helped him up and he put his right arm around her for support.  
  
Xander: (in a harsh sarcastic voice) Thanks a lot Buffy.  
  
Buffy looks at Xander and can see that he is in quite a lot of pain, and she feels a little bit of grief for helping Riley while Xander was on the floor bleeding to death.  
  
Forrest: (to commandos) Escort them out.  
  
Buffy looks back at Riley as they take him away and tears start to well up in her eyes.  
  
Two commandos escort Buffy and Xander back to the elevator.  
  
Commando1: Take the elevator up and then leave.  
  
The two commandos turned their backs when the elevator doors opened and left down the stairs. Buffy and Xander stepped into the elevator and the doors closed.   
  
Xander was having a hard time keeping his eyes open and Buffy noticed.  
  
Buffy: (concerned) Xander are you ok?  
  
Xander: (in a sarcastic voice) Yea, just peachy.  
  
Buffy looked at his wound and then back up at his face. He had lost a lot of blood, more than she thought because he was wearing army gear. Buffy for the first time was scared that Xander might not make it. She looked back up at his face and his eyes where closed.  
  
Buffy: (yelling) Xander! Xander!  
  
Xander opened his eyes.  
  
Xander: Hu what?  
  
Buffy: Xander don't go to sleep ok?  
  
Xander: Ok.  
  
The doors opened and Buffy and Xander walked out of the elevator and they walked out of the frat house.  
  
Xander: Buffy your blurry.  
  
Xander then collapsed onto Buffy, which she was not ready for so she fell onto the grass with an unconscious Xander on top of her. She rolled Xander off of her.  
  
Buffy: (slapping him in his face) Xander! Xander!  
  
But Xander did not wake up. Buffy got very scared now.  
  
Buffy: (scared) Xander! Xander!  
  
Buffy checked his pulse and it was very weak. She started to panic. She and Xander had walked to the frat house so there was no car.  
  
Buffy: (screaming) Help! Someone help me!  
  
A student who was walking by heard her yelling and ran over to Buffy.  
  
Student: (running toward them) What is the problem.  
  
Buffy: Call 911  
  
Student: (coming up to them) Oh my god.  
  
Buffy: (panicked) Call 911  
  
The student was in shock but snaps out of it when Buffy yells. He grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed 911.  
  
Student: I need an ambulance at UCSunnydale quick someone has been stabbed.  
  
A few minute later the student closed his cell.   
  
Student: The ambulance will be here in a while.  
  
Buffy: (not really paying attention) Ok.  
  
She was to busy praying that Xander would not die to pay very much attention to the student.  
  
Buffy: (whispering) Please don't die on me I need you.  
  
She was sitting next to him staring down at him holding his hand. Everything was so quiet. Then it was shattered by the sound of an ambulance and medics rushing toward Buffy and Xander. They pushed Buffy out of the way when they arrived. She just sat a few feet away watching them work on Xander. Buffy was in shock.  
  
Paramedic: Ma'am are you coming with us?  
  
Buffy looked up at him from where she was sitting.  
  
Buffy: (not really paying attention) Sure.  
  
The paramedic helped Buffy get into the back of the ambulance. They had stabilized Xander for now and Buffy was holding his hand hoping that he would not die. They were about 5 minutes away from the hospital.  
  
Parametric: He's crashing.  
  
And the back of the ambulance erupted into a furry. They got to the hospital and rushed Xander into the ICU. Buffy was going to fallow when a nurse intercepted her.  
  
Nurse: Are you all right?  
  
Buffy: (not paying attention) Yes.  
  
Nurse: Ok. You can't go in there while they are working on him.  
  
Buffy: (looking at the nurse) But I need to be with him.  
  
Buffy tried to push by the nurse but she was in deep shock so she could not get by.  
  
Nurse: Please sit in the waiting room.  
  
Buffy: (giving in) Ok.  
  
She walked to the waiting room and remembered she needed to call Willow, Giles, and everyone else. She walked over to a phone in the waiting room and dialed Willow's dorm number hoping she was there. It rang three times before she picked up.  
  
Willow: Hello  
  
Buffy: Willow something happened to Xander.  
  
Willow: (serious) What happened?  
  
Buffy: (emotionally) Well we got into the initiative...  
  
Buffy retold what had happened to Willow. About 5 minutes later Buffy finished telling Willow what had happened.  
  
Buffy: Than the paramedics came and took him to the hospital and on the way here he almost...died.  
  
Buffy was crying for the first time since it all started.  
  
Willow: I will call everyone else ok.  
  
Buffy: Ok.  
  
Willow: Ok bye.  
  
Buffy: Willow.  
  
Willow: Yea.  
  
Buffy: Thank you.  
  
Willow: Your welcome bye.  
  
Buffy: Bye.  
  
She walked back into the waiting room and sat down in a chair and waited for the doctor to tell her how Xander was and for everyone else to get there.   
  
This is my first B/X fic. Please Review. 


End file.
